


operation: grocery shopping

by starksnack



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Precious Peter Parker, puppy, they buy a puppy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:19:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24154963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starksnack/pseuds/starksnack
Summary: Steve, Peter, and Peter's trusty sidekick Mister Dog set off on a quest to check off everything on their grocery list. Will they find everything they need and get rewards from Tony?Featuring cloud watching, scented markers, and Born This Way by Lady Gaga.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 87
Collections: Stony Loves Steve 2020





	operation: grocery shopping

**Author's Note:**

  * For [avengersandco](https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengersandco/gifts).



> i had so much fun writing this! i haven't written superfamily fluff in a really long time so it was nice to do this and i had a really good time writing baby peter again. 
> 
> special thanks to [neb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BladeoftheNebula/pseuds/BladeoftheNebula) for helping me come up with the concept and squee-ing with me over baby peter. i couldn't have written this without my lovely cheer readers [vic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vicspeaks/pseuds/vicspeaks), and [lenka](https://twitter.com/Hperrywrinkle).
> 
> i hope you like the fic!

Steve understood the reference.

At ten in the morning while Tony was at Stark Industries talking some sense into the Research & Development department at SI, Steve was at home taking care of their four-year-old son, Peter who was only just learning that Lego bricks weren’t colourful hard candy.

Peter was sitting on the carpet building what looked like a cross between a motorcycle and the wrong end of the Hulk. He was singing happily to himself and talking to Mister Dog so all around Steve was pretty sure he could avoid the waterworks for the rest of the day.

Steve had just finished cleaning up from a delicious lunch of grilled cheese and orange slices that had managed to make it into Peter’s mouth instead of on Steve’s shirt when his phone buzzed with an incoming text message from Tony. Steve put Peter’s dishes on the rack to dry before wiping his hands on his frilly apron (a gift from Nat) and peering down at the blinking screen.

_Your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to take Peter grocery shopping with you today._

Apparently Tony had given the normal delivery service a week off so Peter could learn more about the domesticity that made life sweet. They had talked about it earlier this week and Tony had planned to take Peter shopping himself, too scared that Steve would faint at the sight of milk prices again, but SI always interfered with his plans of being a family man.

Now that Steve thought about it, the fridge had looked startlingly empty when he had made Peter lunch, but he had totally forgotten about the delayed delivery up until just now. There were three hours before Tony got home from work and Steve figured he could pick up everything he needed in time for them to cook dinner together without Peter getting cranky about a delayed meal.

Steve quickly shot an affirmative text back before turning to where Peter was on his back on the carpet, whispering state secrets to Mister Dog who was cradled in his arms. There was a weird-looking orange stain on his Peppa Pig jammies, but it didn’t look sticky enough to warrant a bath before going out.

It was always a mystery as to where Peter acquired the stains on his clothes. There was nothing in the food that could have been that bright orange and Peter hadn’t gotten into Steve’s art supplies lately. Unless… Steve made a mental note to check his art room after Peter went to bed. His son might have been trying to surprise him and Tony with a big mess and an art piece that was sure to be equally heartwarming while also making him want to tear his hair out.

When he got closer, Peter immediately stopped talking to Mister Dog, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Steve suspiciously. Steve decided that Tony had been showing the kid way too many spy movies when Peter ducked and rolled between Steve’s legs before making a mad dash for his bedroom.

Steve had no idea how his tiny kid moved that fast. Giving chase, he followed Peter to his room, entering to find him huddled under the sheets with his mountain of plushies. His Iron Man and Captain America tsums were suspiciously placed on Peter’s laughing form under the sheets as he told Mister Dog to be quiet before he gave them away.

“Boo!” Steve whispered yanking the sheets off Peter and laughing with his giggling baby. Peter clapped his hands in delight, a bright smile on his face.

Then Peter seemed to remember that Steve was public enemy number one in his pretend mission with mister dog and he composed his expression into his trademark serious face that always made Steve chuckle.

“When will Dada be back from work?”

“Soon,” Steve sat down beside his toddler bed, running his fingers through his baby’s hair.

Pouting, Peter crossed his arms over his chest. Steve wanted nothing more than to call Tony up and tell him to come home immediately.

Peter was probably more clingy than he should be at his age, but Steve wasn’t complaining. He had heard horror stories of kids withholding hugs and getting embarrassed by kisses and he didn’t ever want that to happen with his son even if it was a little inevitable. Peter was an affectionate child though so Steve had a lot of hope. It did make leaving for Shield business or Tony’s SI meetings a lot more hard though.

Trying to perk him up, Steve nudged his shoulder lightly, wiggling his eyebrows. “I have a new mission for you though.”

Peter immediately seemed to forget about missing his dad, sitting up in bed and holding his trusty sidekick dog to his chest. “What is it? Where are we going? When do we leave? Do I get to wear my special agent sunglasses like Uncle Phil and Uncle Clint?”

“Slow down Petey-pie. We have to go grocery shopping.” Steve tried to figure out how to turn it into a game. Peter was an intelligent kid and Steve liked to try and cater to his bright mind with games that would interest him and prove mentally stimulating. “First we need to make a list of things that we need to buy at the store, do you think you can help me do that?”

Nodding resolutely, Peter crossed the room to his art box, digging out a blank piece of paper and a couple of scented markers. He handed Steve the cherry red one, keeping licorice black to himself.

“We need M&Ms,” Peter listed and Steve complied writing it down with little tick boxes so Peter could check them off his mission list later. “Goldfish and Twizzlers.” Peter tapped his chin in thought, his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration the way that Tony always did when he was focused in the lab.

“Frozen 2!”

“Yes, of course, we can’t forget that,” Steve wrote it down. He didn’t think he could take hearing Let it Go for the billionth time so hopefully, a different movie would stop the never-ending serenade Peter did at bedtime.

“A puppy!”

Steve paused. “Maybe we should ask Tony first-”

“A puppy!” Peter said louder and Steve nodded, adding it to the list. If Peter started crying now, Steve wouldn’t be able to get him happy again until Tony got home and he really wanted this grocery trip to go well so he and Tony could celebrate a successful mission together after Peter went to bed.

“Alright,” Steve looked the list over. It seemed pretty conclusive. Peter was a pretty happy child and Tony and Steve tried to give him everything he needed and then some. There wasn’t a lot that he really wanted. “Anything else?”

“Hmm,” Peter assessed Steve’s work, talking with Mister Dog conspiratorially before looking up at Steve from under his inky lashes. “Appley juice.”

Steve nodded, squeezing it on the list at the bottom. “Sounds like we have a plan of attack here,” Steve said holding up his hand for a high five. Peter smacked it happily, his small hand barely the size of Steve’s palm. “Good job, Peteroo.”

A proud smile spread across his face and he made Steve high five Mister Dog too. Accepting the list from Steve, Peter carefully looked it over. He couldn’t quite read yet even though he recognised most letters. 

“What’s next?” Peter asked, his hands placed authoritatively on his hips as he looked around his room. Tapping his chin, Peter decided, “I need a noble steed.”

“I think you’re forgetting mission clothes Pete,” Steve reminded him, heading over to his closet to let Peter pick something out. His tiny adventuring backpack was in the closet, but that was more for outdoor missions than trips to the grocery store.

In the end, Steve ended up wrestling a wiggling Peter into a dark red henley and jeans. They compromised and put on just Peter’s sheriff star instead of the whole fringed jacket and chaps getup that Steve had stashed in the back of his closet for a reason. Steve put his foot down on the fairy wings, though. He had been stabbed in the eye with a wayward wing edge on too many occasions to risk it while shopping, especially since Tony wasn’t there to help if Steve was suddenly out of commission.

Peter didn’t look too torn up about it though, putting a little cowboy hat on Mister Dog so they matched before telling Steve he was ready to go.

Bending down, Steve allowed Peter to climb onto his back, letting out a neigh and galloping down the hall to the kitchen. From there, it didn’t take long for Steve to pack a bag of snacks and toys just in case the game of the mission didn’t agree with Peter at the grocery store. The last thing Steve wanted was to get decked by a disgruntled suburban mom because his son wouldn’t stop wailing like he wanted to raise the dead in the middle of the produce aisle.

When he had everything and Mister Dog was secured under Peter’s arm. Steve strapped him into his car seat and whisked him off to the grocery store. He had to listen to Let it Go on the ride over, but it was Peter’s remixed version that was also part Almost There from the Princess and the Frog and part the Hamilton soundtrack.

Steve sang along when he understood where Peter was, much to his son’s delight, and the car ride was successful as they pulled into a slot in front of the grocery store in Queens that Tony preferred because people were far less likely to call the paparazzi on them. Even so, Steve still had his baseball cap pulled low on his head and had dressed like a box of crayons had taken advantage of him at a thrift store.

“Alrighty kiddo, we’re here. You ready to complete your mission?”

Peter nodded resolutely holding up the list they had made and a blue marker. Steve sprung into action, throwing the baby bag over one shoulder, and scooping up Peter who pulled Mister Dog along for the ride in his arms.

Looking both ways, Peter set his mouth in a determined line before urging Steve to run across the parking lot with a whispered, “go go go.”

Steve ducked his head, and sprinted across the lot, thankful that it was early enough to be mostly empty. He just hoped this wouldn’t be caught on camera for the paparazzi’s tabloids tomorrow.

Dumping the bag into the child carrier and shifting Peter to rest on his hip, Steve pushed the cart into the store, nodding at the cashier who shot him a warm smile and a greeting. 

Peter was fascinated by all the fruit, pointing at the things he wanted. Steve let Peter pick the veggies for his morning smoothies and a couple of other extra fruits for snack time because there was no way Peter was eating goldfish and m&ms every day if Steve had any say in it.

Born this Way started playing over the grocery store speakers and Peter immediately perked up. Tony had danced to the song at an award show a couple of months ago (don’t ask) and Peter was absolutely fascinated with the song. Whenever Peter asked for Gaga, Jarvis queued up the video on the television, much to Tony’s dismay.

Bopping along to the song, Peter shook Mister Dog in an imitation of the dance before looking at Steve expectantly.

It was a weekday morning so the grocery store was mostly empty aside from the sleepy-looking cashier. Steve figured he could entertain his son.

Shaking his hips and shimmying his shoulders, Steve danced in time with the music. He loved his son’s delighted giggles as he spun around and bounced, right in the middle of the produce section. He was sure the apples had seen worse than his dancing.

There was one other lady who was on her way toward the oranges before she saw him and did an impressive about-face to head in the other direction and away from his crazy.

The chorus came on and Steve couldn’t help himself, especially if it made Peter smile. “I’m beautiful in my way, cause God makes no mistakes I’m on the right track baby I was”

“Born this way!” Peter squealed excitedly patting his hands on Steve’s shoulders as he waved his arms around.

On his next spin around, Steve noticed the cashier watching him with her phone pointed in his direction. Figuring his cover was blown, Steve continued to dance, putting on a show for the camera as he gyrated his hips and bounced his son. He figured in ten years, Peter would have a good laugh seeing this on YouTube. Maybe this video would even beat the view count on Tony’s.

When the song ended, Peter laughed and clapped in delight, “‘gain!”

Steve laughed, kissing Peter’s hair before grabbing the cart and heading to the next aisle. “Maybe when we get home, Petey. Me and dad can do it together for you okay?”

That seemed to satiate Peter and he cuddled Mister Dog, settling his head on Steve’s shoulder. The dance seemed to have taken enough out of him that he allowed Steve to shop for pasta in relative silence, occasionally mumbling to his dog.

Lasagna, spaghetti, and macaroni found their way into Steve’s cart as he tried and failed to decide on an Italian dish to cook his husband for dinner. Maybe Steve could go ultimate Italian and combine all three. Steve was trying to pick a sauce when another voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Awe you are just the cutest!”

Steve turned to find a store associate, cooing at Peter who was looking at the stranger wearily with a protective hand around Steve’s shoulder. In the most even voice he could, Peter firmly said, “Stranger danger.”

The associate looked kind of shocked before turning to Steve. He held up a roll of stickers before nodding at Peter. “Can I give him a sticker?”

Steve shrugged, turning to Peter. “Do you want a sticker?”

Nodding, Peter accepted the smiley face sticker the associate was holding out, turning it over in his hands. It was about the size of a quarter and bright blue with purple sparkles. Peter turned to Steve with a mischievous grin and he immediately knew he was in for it.

“For papa!” Peter smacked the sticker onto Steve’s left temple with what felt like the force of a thousand sons. Steve stepped back in surprise, blinking the stars out of his eyes and silently thanking the serum for making sure he didn’t go down and take his kid with him. 

The store associate was chuckling as he headed back down the aisle, probably to hand out more stickers to kids with unsuspecting parents. Steve accepted his fate, leaving the sticker on his face. If it made Peter happy, it made him happy too.

Steve turned to the next aisle, setting Peter down on the linoleum tile so he could scope out the M&Ms he wanted to buy and dump them in the cart. Carefully, he made tick marks beside the groceries he picked them up, asking Steve to read the items off the list so he could look for them.

Peter was surprisingly good at looking for the food he wanted and recognising the pictures on boxes and bags. Steve was enjoying himself enough that he considered telling Tony to permanently cancel their grocery delivery service so he could do this weekly with his son.

Peter held up the list and Steve looked it over. The only thing left that they could get from the grocery store was the Frozen 2 DVD. Tony could probably buy it online for much cheaper, but Steve wouldn’t stop his son from completing his list and it wasn’t like they couldn’t spare the extra couple of dollars. It was worth it to see Peter’s adorable smile.

They headed to the electronic’s section, Peter skipping ahead but stopping every so often to turn to Steve and make an adorably funny face. Steve tried to reciprocate, screwing up his mouth like he had eaten a lemon and sticking out his tongue like he was roadkill. Every time, Peter giggled, young and adorable, and Steve felt more love warming him up from the inside out.

When they got to the DVD section, Peter was floored by the sheer selection of movies available to choose from. There was Mulan and Princess and the Frog and Brave. Peter bounced excitedly, picking up a DVD to show Mister Dog.

“You’re right, the plot was seriously lacking,” he said putting Chicken Little back on the shelf. Steve resisted the urge to laugh. He was clearly parroting something he had heard Tony say but the big words from his kid’s mouth cracked him up.

“Do you see Frozen 2?” Steve asked. He knew exactly where it was. Two down and four up from where Mulan was, but he didn’t want to ruin the fun of the search for Peter.

It took his son a couple of minutes of searching and a lot of jumping up and down to try and see the highest shelf. The vertical challenge reminded Steve of Tony and he resisted the urge to text a photo of Peter climbing the shelves to his husband. Like father like son.

“There it is!” Peter pointed to the DVD on the shelf, his face lighting up with pride as he made grabby hands. “Papa, can you help me get it?”

“Of course!” Steve picked Peter up, letting him grab the DVD and raise it above his head in triumph. Then, instead of setting him down, he swung Peter up and onto his shoulders. Peter made a noise of awe, holding on to Steve’s chin and accidentally wacking him in the face with the DVD.

“I can see everything from up here!”

“Really?” Steve said, pushing the cart back toward the front. He pulled his hat off and tucked it into his bag so he could keep an eye on Peter. He was sure he had ridiculous hat head, but he was a parent so he couldn’t be expected to look cute all the time. “Can you see the checkout counter so we can complete the first part of the mission and get to the second level?”

“Yeah!”

Peter had clearly been watching too much Ratatouille though because instead of just telling Steve which direction he wanted to go in, he grabbed fistfuls of Steve’s blond hair, tugging to let him know which way to go. Steve resisted the urge to yell as Peter helped navigate him to the front of the store where the cashier gave him a pitying look.

“I think you have something here,” the cashier gestured to her face and Steve had a moment of panic before remembering the sticker Peter had smacked on his face earlier.

Steve sighed happily. His kid was such a cutie. “Yeah, I know.”

She looked up at Peter with a knowing smile. “Howdy sheriff,” she greeted referring to the star on his shirt.

Peter giggled and Steve caught him tipping Mister Dog’s hat at her from the corner of his eye. His kid was the most adorable, there was no contest. “Howdy ma’am!”

She grinned, ringing him up and putting all of his stuff in reusable bags. When he passed her his Amex she glanced at it, then did a double-take eyeing Steve and then the card and then Peter sitting on his shoulders and blowing raspberries at Mister Dog. “Captain Rogers?”

“The one and only.”

She eyed the sticker on his cheek and Peter’s sticky fingers in his hair, her brows raising even more. Steve just knew the video of him dancing to Lady Gaga was going to end up on the evening news. She blushed, swiping his card and handing it back to him, “fatherhood looks good on you.”

It was Steve’s turn to blush, even though the comment was probably sarcastic he was incredibly proud of his son. His main goal in life was to make his son happy, even if he looked ridiculous doing so.

Grabbing all of his bags and scooping Peter up into his arms, Steve returned the cart and headed to the car, loading the groceries into the boot and strapping his son into his car seat with Mister Dog.

“I’m hungry papa,” Peter pouted before putting his ear to Mister Dog’s mouth as though listening to him speak. He nodded before turning to Steve. “Mister Dog says he’s hungry too.”

“Do you want some blueberries or goldfish?” Steve asked, already unzipping the baby bag.

Peter conferred with Mister Dog before asking for the blueberries. He batted his eyelashes doing a perfect impression of a puppy, wide brown eyes huge and pleading. Steve would have given him the blueberries anyway but the display made his heart melt. His expression was all Tony’s and so was his love for blueberries.

Steve made sure Peter was strapped in before getting into the front seat and navigating out of the parking lot. Peter wanted to cloud watch so Steve set the radio on low. It was on a soft rock station because Tony refused to let Peter listen to mainstream pop.

“Mister Dog, look! Umbrella cloud!”

In the rearview mirror, Steve watched Peter point out the window, his mouth in an ‘o’ shape as he looked up at the sky in wonder. Cloud watching was definitely one of his favourite pastimes and he spent hours at the tower looking out the huge picture windows in the living room.

“Maybe the umbrella cloud will keep the rain away so we can go to the park with dad tomorrow,” Steve said as he put his indicator on and merged lanes. Tony had the day off and he wanted to take Peter to Luna Park. They had kept it a secret though just in case one of their jobs postponed the trip.

Peter was sharing his blueberries with Mister Dog in the backseat, telling him about the wonders of eating healthy. It was something he had probably heard Steve say to Tony who was notorious for skipping out on vegetables in favour of coffee and doughnuts.

“A dildo cloud! Like papa!”

Steve choked on his spit, glad for his firm grip on the wheel so he didn’t swerve into oncoming traffic. “What?”

“Dildo chip!” Peter said, pointing at the sky.

Chancing a glance up, Steve spotted the triangle-shaped cloud and stifled a laugh. “Do you mean Dorito, Petey?”

“Yeah!” Peter responded matter of factly. “That’s what I said.”

Steve shook his head, leaving Peter to his conversation with Mister Dog as he navigated the afternoon rush hour traffic. Thankfully it was mostly people leaving Manhattan rather than going into the city so it wasn’t too bad. Peter was also a patient kid so that helped loads. Steve didn’t think he could deal with a constant stream of ‘are we there yet?’

Minutes later Steve pulled up in front of the animal shelter listening to Peter’s squeals in delight from the backseat. Smiling at the sound, Steve helped him out of his booster seat, holding his hand as they crossed the parking lot and into the industrial-looking building.

The moment they were inside though, Peter was off like a shot to check out the animals and make new friends. Normally Steve would tell him not to wander off but the store was pretty small and empty so he wasn’t too worried about Peter getting lost.

Steve smiled at the tired-looking volunteer sitting at the desk. He had sandy blond hair and green eyes and by his expression, he would rather be anywhere else than cleaning up after animals. Must be school community service then. 

“First pet?” The boy asked, his interest piqued as he checked Steve out before smirking. Standing up, he headed toward the back where Steve could hear Peter giggling. “What are you looking for?”

“A dog!” Peter interrupted from the back of the store where all the animals were.

Steve could hear his voice, but panic shot through him when he couldn’t actually locate his son. He looked around the shop, his heart racing as he tried to find his son’s curly mop of hair. It was a small store, Peter couldn’t have gotten lost so quickly. He remembered what Tony had said about being a Stark and kidnapping and Steve’s thoughts quickly spiralled out of control as he thought about telling Tony their son had somehow gotten kidnapped by a bunch of innocent-looking puppies at the local shelter.

“He’s right here,” the worker noticed Steve’s panic and pointed to where Peter was buried under what seemed like a couple dozen kittens. Steve sighed in relief looking at the balls of fluff, all of them purring happily as they climbed over his son. Their tails curled in contentment and Peter giggled, petting three at once with a wide smile on his face. A fluffy grey ball was licking at Peter’s cheek while another jet black one nestled in the curve of his neck. “Maybe you would be better suited to a cat?”

“I want a dog,” Peter said firmly, crawling out from under the cats with Mister Dog firmly tucked under his arm. He was covered in cat fur and Steve silently thanked his lucky stars that Peter wanted a dog. Peter’s eyes widened as he seemed to remember his manners. “Pretty please.”

“Our dogs are right here.” The volunteer smiled down at Peter, gesturing at a couple of unlocked cages in the back.

A couple of puppies were playing together, yipping excitedly as they jumped around and nipped at ears. One of them was a curly-haired Portuguese water dog with eyes as big and pleading as Peter’s, the other was a very thicc corgi that Steve knew Tony would immediately create an Instagram account for just to glorify dat ass. The moment they set their sights on Peter their tails went into overdrive, wagging crazily as they jumped up and down in an effort to get closer to his son.

One of them jumped on Peter’s legs and he patted every inch of fur he could reach. The other dogs seemed to perk up at the thought of getting pet and soon Peter was ambushed by a playful dachshund and a couple of excited pomeranians. There was an aloof looking german shepherd mix against the wall who seemed to immediately warm up to Peter, nuzzling his face and licking at his fingers.

Steve’s heart melted as a labrador retriever emerged from his cage, bouncing over to Peter excitedly. He was missing his front left leg, but it didn’t seem to slow him down as he bumped his nose against Peter’s cheek with a cute huff. Standing up on his hind legs, he pawed at Peter’s belly making him giggle.

“Papa! I want all of them!” 

Steve laughed, bending down to scratch the dog closest to him behind the ear. There was quite a selection and Steve couldn’t deny that he did have a small urge to adopt them all. He could only imagine the look on Tony’s face if he brought home eleven dogs. His husband would probably be totally shocked at first. And mock angry, because he could never truly be upset with Steve. Not over something like Steve adopting the whole shelter because Peter asked.

He could never deny his son anything and Tony understood that more than anyone.

Tony would probably be a really good dog dad if he didn’t have so many other obligations. Steve could imagine his husband creating a dog paradise right in their penthouse. In another world, they could totally open a state of the art doggy daycare together.

Peter tugging on his pant leg drew him out of his thoughts and he bent down to give his son his full attention. “Yes, baby?”

“I want him, please,” Peter said pointing at the cute labrador retriever rolling on his back with a tennis ball in his mouth. He barked excitedly when he noticed the two of them looking at him, smiling around the ball. Steve already felt himself falling in love with their newest member of the family.

“What’s your name buddy?” Steve asked, patting the dog’s belly and receiving a pleased yip in response. The dog dropped his tennis ball to lick at Steve’s wrist, tongue lolling out of his mouth.

Peter laughed, “Papa! Don’t be silly he can’t talk.”

If Sven could do it, Steve could too. Making his voice deeper with a funny lilt, Steve pretended to be the dog saying, “of course I can!”

That sent Peter into another fit of giggles and Steve couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to his son’s cheek. Flipping the dog’s tag over to read it, he smiled, “his name is Lightning.”

That warranted an excited gasp out of Peter as he scratched the dog’s head more.

“Do you think he’s related to Thor?” Peter asked eyes wide at the thought of finding his uncle’s long lost relative. Steve smiled, he couldn’t wait to tell Thor later. The god adored Peter and he would surely confirm that he was related to the dog if Steve said it would make the kid happy.

“Maybe,” Steve responded seriously, rubbing Peter’s back as he reached forward to scratch the dog’s chin. “I bet if we bought him a Mjolnir chew toy, he’d really like it. Maybe he’ll even summon a little lightning.”

That seemed to make Peter even more excited and he immediately started talking about all the things he wanted to get his new best friend. Of course, they needed chew toys and treats and blankets and bows because Lightning would look great with a purple bow around his neck. Peter even introduced Lighting to Mister Dog, squealing with excitement as Lightning licked Mister Dog up the face, knocking his cowboy hat askew.

Steve smiled at his son, turned to the volunteer, and said, “we’ll take him.”

The volunteer frowned, “are you sure? There are so many other dogs that are a lot more suited to a young child.”

Not missing a limb, Steve understood, his frown deepening. 

“Yes, I’m sure,” he responded firmly using his Captain America voice as Tony dubbed it. If Peter wanted Lightning, then that was the dog Steve was going to get him. The missing limb didn’t change anything.

The volunteer shivered before reaching to grab the dog and leash him for Steve. Peter was over the moon.

Twenty minutes and a lot of paperwork later, Steve had the dog in the backseat licking at Peter’s fingers as he navigated toward the tower. Peter was telling Lightning about Uncle Bucky and talking about how his dada could make Lightning a new leg too just like his old one. Steve hadn’t even thought about Tony making their new dog a prosthetic but now that he thought about it, Lighting will probably have a new leg to try out by tomorrow if Tony had anything to do with it.

Steve already knew that Tony would love the new addition to their family and he couldn’t wait to go on family walks and give the dog a bath and teach Peter responsibility through caring for a pet. His son was already great at caring for people so Steve figured he would be a natural.

They finally arrived at the penthouse and Peter helped unload the car by holding his new Frozen 2 DVD and Mister Dog. Steve slung his go-bag around his shoulder, wrapped Lightning’s leash around his wrist, scooped Peter up into his arms, and grabbed all of their reusable grocery bags. Tony made fun of him for it all the time, but super soldiers didn’t do second trips.

As the elevator rocketed them up to the penthouse, Steve marvelled at the success of their shopping trip. Together they somehow checked off absolutely everything on Peter’s list. Not only that, but Steve managed to actually get the groceries he needed to make dinner for the next couple of nights and the Ethiopian coffee beans Tony liked. All in all, the mission was a success and by the time the elevator dinged at the penthouse, Steve felt proud of himself.

The doors slid open and Steve saw Tony was waiting for them, stretched out on the couch with a tablet in hand. The moment Steve stepped past the threshold Tony looked up at them. Then did a double-take, standing up from the couch as if he couldn’t believe he was actually seeing Steve.

“Is that a dog?”

Oh right, that. Steve knew he had forgotten something.

“No it’s a fish,” Steve joked, offering Tony a smile.

At the same time, Peter squealed, “Yes!”

Steve didn’t have a free hand to run down his face, but he sighed, shifting Peter in his arms. “I meant to tell you my love, I just--”

The dog barked, tugging on the leash wrapped around Steve’s wrist. Peter yelled excitedly, tapping Steve’s shoulders and asking to be put down as he kicked his legs. The moment his feet touched the floor he raced the short distance to where Tony met him in the middle.

“Dada! Dada!” Peter grabbed at Tony’s pant leg, tugging on it and gesturing for Tony to bend down. Of course, he obliged, dropping to one knee so he could give Peter his full attention. “Papa and I completed our mission!” Peter thrust the list at Tony’s chest before throwing his hands up in a cheer. “We’re amazing.”

Picking Peter up and rising to his feet, Tony studied the list before grinning at Peter. “What a good list, I’m very proud of you kiddo.” Tony kissed Peter’s hair before turning to Steve to plant a sweet kiss on his mouth. He tasted like coffee and sugar cookies and Steve loved him all the more for it. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” Steve set the grocery bags down on the floor and unleashed Lightning so he could slide his arms around Tony’s waist and ruffle Peter’s hair. Tony fit perfectly in the curve of his arms and Steve settled his head against Tony’s. The dog shot off around the room exploring his new environment as Steve gave his husband his full attention. “How was work?”

“Boring as always.”

They both sighed in unison and stood there a moment just basking in being together after a long day. Peter settled his head against Tony’s shoulder, quietly watching both of his parents. There was a lot more left to do. A sticky Peter needed a bath, food and toys for Lightning needed to be ordered and Steve had to get lasagna ready but he was so grateful for all of the things that kept him busy.

Peter started shifting impatiently in Tony’s arms spurring him into action. He carried Peter to the kitchen, Steve followed him with the groceries. “I’m more interested in what you both did today. I think you both deserve a reward.”

“Reward?” Peter perked up immediately. He looked at Mister Dog excitedly to relay the information before focusing back on Tony.

“I ordered you some new Lego. Jarvis said it arrived today.” Tony set Peter down so he could help put away the groceries. Of course, Peter immediately got distracted playing with the new dog instead. Steve figured he deserved a break after the arduous grocery shopping mission. With Peter out of ear-shot, Tony turned to Steve with a mischievous grin. “I’ll give you your special reward after Peter goes to bed.”

A slow smile spread across Steve’s face as he blushed, heat pooling in his hips. If the reward was anything like what Steve had in mind, they would both be having a very good night. 

“I can’t wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> <3


End file.
